Quotes About Acting

I'm smarter than the average; I just act dumb. That's what gets people's attention; you act dumb, you get people's attention.

In these interviews, they've been asking me for a while, 'If you could do a scene with anybody that you haven't done a scene with yet, who would it be?' It would be Christian Stolte. He's the most incredible actor. He is always the smartest person in the room.

Nick was cast first in both 'Smashed' and 'Kings.'

During the course of the seven years I played scenes with an oil slick, I played a scene with a grain of rice. Sometimes with indescribable creatures. I remember having a conversation with something which was simply a smell, that's all. It was part of our job.

When I got on set, and these huge, big lights come on, it brings on a smell - it's almost like the smell of a light burning a little bit - and I said, 'This reminds me of my childhood,' because I grew up onstage.

I don't mind a little Sturm und Drang. When I was doing 'Riding in Cars With Boys,' I wouldn't smile at anybody, because my character, Bev, was angry at the world. I'm the opposite. Inside my head I'd be like, God, I'll explain to you at the end of shooting that I'm not this person.

And I like the look on people's faces when I say I'm doing this movie called Pride and Prejudice and they kind of smile, and then I say I'm in a movie called Doom and they kind of do a double take and try and put the two things together. And they never quite manage to.

You have to continue to smile through life. And it's good when you get to bring that out in a character.

I don't smile or talk before 10 A.M. unless it's scripted.

As for me, it is interesting to play a role that is not human; it is nice to be all powerful without fancy action scenes. But, it is not funny to play God, even on film. You don't speak much and just smile beatifically.

I love to see the smiles on people's faces when you cook for them. I love to go to different restaurants. I want to cook because I know this acting isn't going to last forever, and I want something to fall back on. It's another way to make people smile.

I play guys who never smile, and I never stop smiling.

I get tetchy with myself when I forget. I also get tetchy when directors ask you for take after take after take after take for no apparent reason. I've heard Maggie Smith gets tetchy for the same reason.

Being in the same scenes as Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine is something I will never forget.

Acting careers don't come out fully formed - not unless your name is Jaden Smith and your dad has done it all.

I want to have a scene with Maggie Smith.

Will Smith's acting reaffirms my belief in the American perfection.

The greatest moment of all was her on set, and she said, 'Would you mind if you change the order of the phrase?' Maggie Smith asking me if I could change the line, asking politely, using my name!

As for the herbal cigarettes, for the most part I don't smoke as much as the guys do. I'm usually just strutting around a bit more so I don't actually have to be inhaling it. I'm lucky because I do have scenes where the cigarettes work beautifully to punctuate certain things I'm saying.

An actor has to be very, very careful, as one of the most wonderful props - and actors love props - is a cigarette. There's so much to do with it: you can bring it up to your face, play with the smoke. It's just the greatest - ever since I was 16 and in acting school in England, I've been playing around with cigarettes.

Acting has not been a smooth sailing journey.

I have been acting over 3 decades now, so I think after all these years of experience I can get into any character very smoothly.

I am as curious about my daughter's acting debut as the rest of the world. I think Alia has got the best possible debut under the biggest banner. But it's not going to be easy for her to go from the first to the second film smoothly.

You can't play a guy who's just a snake, because what do you draw on?